1. Field of the Invention
The field of art to which the invention pertains includes the field of connecting blade-type contact pins to receiving sockets, and in particular the invention concerns a small but reliable socket arrangement for standard DIP circuit elements mounted on printed circuit boards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the manufacture, assembly, and servicing of computers, radio and tele-communication apparatuses, etc., many multi-contact connections are necessary. Many of these connections require non-permanent, releasable electrical connection, and in computer circuits in particular, several circuit elements, including integrated circuits, must be connected by making electrical contact between a plurality of pins on an integrated circuit element and the conductor strips of a mother printed circuit board.
In order to make connections with such circuits, the circuit packages are either soldered directly to a printed circuit board, or plugged into an intermediate multi-contact socket. In the latter instance, the socket ends themselves are soldered to the openings in a printed circuit board.
Sockets for integrated circuit DIP elements have a major disadvantage in that, in order to possess good electrical contact reliability and mechanical retention strength, the sockets must have strong spring elements bearing against the pins of the DIP element, and this requires considerable space between the DIP element and the printed circuit board. In particular, good electrical contact is possible only using large dimensional spring elements and large diameter sockets for positioning the spring elements. Accordingly, in order that there might be sufficient frictional engagement with the pin and good electrical contact, the sockets must, of necessity, have undesirably large length and diameter dimensions. Such requirements undesirably increase the space between the circuit element and the printed circuit board and decrease the number of possible connections on the mother printed circuit board.
An additional disadvantage of prior art sockets of this type is their cost. In order to attain high contact reliability, expensive spring elements must be utilized. Alternatively, in order to avoid the high cost of production, a manufacturer may do away with a spring in the socket, but in doing so he must provide an excessively long socket to insure good electrical contact somewhere along its length. Accordingly, the need exists for an improved socket for integrated circuits and the like which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and requires little space between the circuit element and the printed circuit board.